How to build your own strategy

Building your own strategy is one of the most powerful ways to make Limp Lab work for you. While the app includes two prebuilt strategies to get you started, your personal strategy lets you practice the exact spots and games you care about most. This deep dive article explains why creating your own strategy matters, how to source ranges, and how to put everything together inside Limp Lab.

---

Why build your own strategy?

Every player has different goals and game contexts:

• Cash games vs. tournaments require different ranges.
• Stack sizes (e.g., 15BB vs 150BB) and table formats (e.g., 6-max vs. 9-max) drastically change your decisions.

Another reason to build your own strategy is that GTO ranges are often too complex. They frequently include mixed frequencies that are almost impossible to implement precisely in real play.

Example:
A solver might suggest opening 43s from the Button 7.8% of the time and folding it 92.2% of the time. While this is mathematically precise, it’s not realistic for a human to execute in-game. With Limp Lab, you can take this GTO suggestion and simplify it into something actionable – for example open 10%, fold 90%.

The EV loss in such simplifications is absolutely negligible, because no human can exploit a ~3% opening frequency deviation from GTO.

This way, you keep the strategic intent but remove unnecessary complexity, creating a strategy you can actually remember, apply at the table and more importantly manipulate in spots that are calling for it.

Finally, it’s important to note that at low and micro stakes nobody plays GTO anyway. In these games, exploitative play is far more profitable than trying to replicate solver outputs. GTO ranges are far from optimal in these environments. With Limp Lab, you can adapt and simplify ranges to take advantage of common tendencies at your stakes. And as we roll out more analysis tools like Population Analysis, you’ll be able to tailor your strategies even more precisely to what the player pool actually does. This makes your strategy not only easier to use but also more profitable in practice.

---

Finding ranges from external sources

There are many ways to get preflop ranges from around the internet. Some common sources include:

• Solver outputs from tools like PioSolver, Simple Preflop, or GTO Wizard exports.
• Coaching materials such as charts from courses, PDFs, or community groups.
• Published charts on training sites, forums, or Discord communities.

When sourcing ranges, make sure they are reliable and up-to-date. Strategy evolves quickly, especially in tournament formats, so it’s worth checking that your data is current.

---

Importing ranges into Limp Lab

Limp Lab offers three ways to bring external ranges into the app. You can use them individually or combine them as needed:

Manual combo selection

Open the range editor, pick an action (open, 3-bet, call, fold) and assign specific hands to it. This is the most flexible option when you want to make small adjustments or build a range from scratch.

---

Import from screenshot

If you have a range chart as an image, simply drag and drop it into the editor. Limp Lab detects the colors in the screenshot and automatically maps them to actions. This is a fast way to turn visual resources into editable ranges.

---

Insert range string

If your source provides shorthand notation (e.g. 99+, AJs+, AQo+), paste it into the editor. Limp Lab parses the string and generates the corresponding range instantly.

---

Speeding up with Copy Through

When you build ranges manually, you don’t have to redraw everything for each position. Limp Lab includes a Copy Through feature that saves you time.

For example, if you define an Under the Gun (UTG) opening range, you can click Copy Through and automatically apply that range to all later positions up to the Button. Since ranges naturally widen as positions move closer to the Button, you can then simply adjust and expand instead of starting from scratch every time.

This feature is especially helpful for building consistent baselines quickly.

---

Combining ranges into a complete strategy

A single chart covers just one spot (e.g. UTG open in 6-max, 100BB). A strategy in Limp Lab is a collection of ranges covering many situations.

To build a complete strategy:

1. Start with a baseline (e.g. RFI strategy for cash games or a tournament opening strategy).
2. Add responses for common scenarios (e.g. BTN vs. CO raise, SB vs. BTN 3-bet).
3. Move into the more uncommon preflop lines as you encounter them.

Over time, you’ll create a library of ranges that reflect your personal approach to the game and cover most situations one step at a time.

---

Using Variants to adjust stack sizes and pressure

Every strategy in Limp Lab has a baseline, which is defined by the stack size you set in the strategy settings (for example, 80BB in an MTT). From that baseline, you can create Variants to model different situations without rebuilding everything from scratch.

Variants allow you to:

• Adjust ranges for different stack depths (e.g. add a 60BB variant to see how your BTN opens change compared to your 80BB baseline).
• Model ICM pressure scenarios, where ranges tighten or loosen depending on payout implications.
• Fine-tune specific spots by adding or removing combos relative to your baseline (e.g. including 64s at 100BB in late position that you wouldn’t open at 20BB).

Example:

• Baseline: 80BB MTT opening ranges.
• Variant 1: 60BB stack size – slightly tighter opens from early position, adjust BTN calls.
• Variant 2: 40BB ICM bubble – UTG opens narrower, BTN reshove ranges expand.

When you add a Variant, Limp Lab overlays the adjustments on top of your baseline strategy, so you can compare and train multiple situations efficiently.

---

Best practices

• Stay consistent: use ranges from the same source or solver settings to avoid contradictions.
• Keep it manageable: too many complex ranges at once can slow down your learning. Focus on your main game type first.
• Leverage Copy Through and Variants: use them to save time and create structured strategies that scale.
• Simplify GTO ranges: don’t try to train mixed frequencies you can’t execute. For example, instead of following a solver output that opens 43s 7.8% of the time, decide whether you want to always open, always fold, or use a simple rounded frequency.
• Review regularly: as you gain experience or find new resources, update your strategy to keep it sharp.

---

Next steps

Once your strategy is set up, jump into the Range Trainer to start practicing it under pressure. Then explore the Flop Navigator to see how your preflop decisions flow into postflop play.